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Tuesday, May 31

Time for another Grungy Monday and the technique this week is an old one, but one I have never completed before, made similar things but not quite like this. All the details are over at the Studio L3 blog with a link to the technique over at the home of Tim Holtz.

It's another one where I only have one of the product concerned - Acrylic Paint Dabbers, in my case a rather dried up specimen of Peach Bellini!

I chose Coredinations Black magic for my base card so that I had the black element but also a vibrant blue on areas that were sanded right back. The swirly flower is an old DoCrafts stamp and the little dragonflies are by High Hopes.

The butterfly and tag are Pink Paislee embellisments and the rest are Ebay bargains.

Thursday, May 26

Tilda has gone all tropical on me today. I think she is imagining getting married in far flung places.

I principally started making this for the Magnolia Stamp Lovers dry embossed background challenge. I had seen the idea in Magnolia Ink #3 of 2010 on a card made by Ying (completely different stamps and papers, but the idea was there, stamp and colour patterned paper and then emboss it). I've used BasicGrey Periphery paper, stamped the Magnolia beach scene and then coloured with a combination of Aquamarkers and pencils. The embossing folder is a Papermania one (slightly larger than some of the others I have so I was able to get more of the scene in).

Lady Tilda has been coloured with Distress Inks and the tropical blooms have been cut with a Sizzix Brenda Pinnick die.

Wednesday, May 25

Yes, #103. I will have my Pif done for next week, honest, cos I really do want to be part of the big 2nd anniversary at WOYWW. If you haven't heard abput it yet pop over to Julia's blog and get all the details.

A picture of my stamping corner today.

Overflowing to such an extent that I reall only use the stuff at the front. Something else to add to the to do list - Re-organise stamping corner. I think I need to put stamps into categories and catalogue some of the old ones so I remember they are there. Anyone got a spare couple of hours???

Tuesday, May 24

There's a new Grungy Monday challenge over at Studio L3 this week. The challenges focus on the fabulous tutorials and techniques of Tim Holtz. Check out Studio L3 for all the details and a link to this week's technique.

This week involves using Adirondak ink pads of which I own one in bottle green. This limited my options somewhat so I decided to go for a background stamp.

I'm really glad I gave it a try as I love the results and will definitely use it with this same background again. I've even added the extra bit of splattering as suggested by Sir Tim in his tutorial, before stamping over with swirl and lamp from an Inkadinkado set.

I've used Tim's dressmakers dummy die, sprayed with Glimmer Mist, stamped with a French Market stamp and painted with Distress Crackle Paint (yet more Tim products).

Monday, May 23

Yesterday's Silent Sunday photo was of The Dinky Diva holding up her medal at the end of the local mini marathon. She completed the 2.3k cross-country course and, despite a fall in the early stages, finished 108th out of 280 to 300 girls.

Here she is (in the red shirt) sprinting in to the finish.

The course went through the line of trees you can see running across the top of the picture.

On the crafting front a couple of bargains came my way. The 1st was a leather swatch book from a charity shop.

These leathers are lovely quality and I have several things I would like to try and make with them.

Sunday, May 22

Thursday, May 19

Kirsty Wiseman is hosting a craft raffle to help pay for the vet bills of Daisy the dog. Daisy is the very much loved and needed companion of a boy who suffers with Aspergers. Unfortunately, Daisy needs major surgery which her family are unable to afford. Like Daisy, we do not have insurance for the Hairy Horror, in her case the premiums were so high and the benefits that were payable were so low due to her age, we felt it was nonsense to part with our hard earned cash.

There are some humongous prizes on offer, so please pop over to Kirsty's blog and show your support.

I'm behind with my book reviews as I finished this one over Easter. I have about 4 on the go at the moment, all about half way through, so I think I should easily manage a target of 20 in 2011 and then I will see if I can top that for 2012.

The Counterfeit Guest was another bargain shop buy that I picked up without realising it was the 2nd in a series. Set in the late 1700's in England during the French Revolution. There's a good heroine - Mary Finch and a very slow burning romance.

After a promising start, I realised it was one of those books where you discover you are over half-way through and nothing has happened yet! It redeemed itself with an exciting finish, but was definitely not a page turner.

Wednesday, May 18

Sugar Nellie/Funky Kits have just celebrated the release of the 7th set of Simply Sassy stamps. On the blog hop the wonderful Amelia was a firm favourite and mine has been purchased and arrived just in time for the Sugar Bowl challenge #59 (a sketch along with a distressed/vintage theme).

I've coloured her with Copics using colours for the Camouflage theme at Sunday Stamper #154.

The doorway paper and clock chipboards are from the BoBunny Timepiece collection. My Travel time theme is for this month's challenge #4 at The Altered Alice, 'Time'.

The patterned paper for the background and the little butterflies are from Crate Paper's Portrait collection. I've Distress Inked some paper for the wording stamp, which is an old PSX one.

It's time for anotherWOYWW and no doubt everyone will be gloating about how they have finished their PIF for the 2nd anniversary. I think it stands for 'Pay it forward', but actually the procedure is more 'Pass it back', the details are on Julia's blog here. Well I'm in the 'Haven't even started it yet!' gang, yes I know it is supposed to be ready to post on the allotted day, but right now it's very clearly in my head and I can't say for certain exactly when it will transfer into actually being a physical, tangible object.....but it will do soon, I'm sure.Edited to add, that WIPSO is right in her comment you do go forward and I just have no idea what I am doing! If you are playing along during week #104 (we're on week #102 now) please take your instructions direct from Julia's blog and definitely not from me!!

Here's my current desk top with lots of projects on the go.

In my haste to cover some June projects for the By The Cute And Girly crew I left an address showing which I have blotted out in the edit! I'm hoping to use the quilting template to make a shaped card, there are some new Penny Black stamps as well as my recent PB easel card waiting to find a home. Hidden near the bottom is a new Simply Sassy that I hope to make into a finished card by the end of the day.

Tuesday, May 17

There was a new challenge set at Studio L3 yesterday using the wonderful techniques of Sir Tim as inspiration. This week's technique is Distress Ink Colour Blocking and all the details as well as a link to a video of the technique can be found over at the Studio L3 blog.

I've limited the colours on my project to Broken China, Bundled Sage, Pumice Stone and Wild Honey. The flower stems are Artemio stamps and the bee is a really old Inca stamp I've had absolutely years. I've popped a bit of sparkle on his wings.

The fathers day greeting is cut from a free stamp that came with Craft Stamper magazine also yonks ago.

Monday, May 16

This week's theme at the Daring Cardmakers is 'The Darling BUGS Of May'. Straight away I knew I wanted to get my old Tilda with ladybug out, I think this was the 1st Magnolia stamp I bought.

Whilst I was making it I decided to combine in a few more challenges as well.

There's an embossed background that I realised afterwards is for a challenge that hasn't started yet, but that's OK as I have already seen another idea that I want to try for that one.

The papers with the butterflies on are from Prima. I've added some additional punched butterflies decorated with pearls and along with Tilda's bug that's my 2 Bs for Moving Along With The Times #98 and my favorite things for the Magnolia Down Under challenge #96.

Finally got my hands on some bakers twine that seems to be one of the current card making trends. I've finished mine off with some little blue beads.

We had a busy weekend, I don't know where the time flies to. Back to Pre-School for the Branston Pickle today, he seems to be settling in well. My afternoon without him flies past and I have to be very focused not to just surf the net when I should be getting other jobs done!

Saturday, May 14

All the challenge details are over at Studio L3 with a link to the 12 Tags of 2007, Day 8 at the home of Sir Tim - www.timholtz.com.

I've turned my bit of weathered wood into door sign (I've also turned on the italics and can't make them go off again!)

Tilda is coloured with Copics using red for challenge #29 at iCopic. The background's nice and stripey and so are her clothes so I'm also entering it at the Sunday Stamper for challenge #153 - Stars and/or stripes.

The big skull is a Sizzix die, the letters are Pink Paislee and the little anchor is an Imaginisce stamp.

Well, I didn't even manage to get this post up yesterday before everything went pear shaped, so I decided to give up and do 2 posts today instead.

The theme for Penny Black at Allsorts this month is 'Shape Up' anything that's not square or rectangle. On top of that they are also having a design team call.

First off I've made this shaped easel card using 2 die cut frames I received in a swap/rak. I've popped a little stamped cat image behind that I have coloured with Distress Inks and then I've embellished to my hearts content!

After that I had a bit of a crisis, does this still count as square? Well to be certain I dug out my Penny Black Stickeroos and made this little 'Plate' card.

I've die cut a scaloped nestie and then put the sticker on a cream circle and added some faux stitching and flowers. There's also a little fishbone charm from MEI Flower. The stand is cut from another piece of cream card.

I'd like to enter this one for the My Time To Craft challenge #140 - Scallops (as well as for Penny Black at Allsorts if the first one doesn't count!).

Thursday, May 12

Glad to see it wasn't just me with blog problems this morning, I thought for a minute my computer was having another meltdown.

I new as soon as I saw the theme at Sir Stampalot that I wanted to do another masking and inking scene.

I had these lovely stamps from Papermania that I had bought especially for this purpose and hadn't got them out for a play yet. I've used Distress Inks throughout, including to plaint the castle, with a little bit of pencil over the top for some details.

The other stamps around the edges are from Making Memories and the sentiment is by Kaisercraft. I've mounted the picture on black glitter card from DCWV, but that's quite hard to see from the photo.

Just when you thought it was safe to visit desks..............Just when you thought you had seen everything..............Just when you thought there could be nothing messier.................

There is this......................................

Be afraid, be very afraid!!!

I'm kind of reorganising, but with very little free time to do it. The result is more stuff has crept out of its hidey holes and then been left there. My 40cm square storage cubes have multiplied, not sure if you can quite see that. Given time, I am sure I know where it is all going - and I don't just mean that it's all sliding off onto the floor!

Catch up with lots more crafty folks at Julia's blog and share your own workspace pictures.

Tuesday, May 10

Another couple of cards I made during my enforced break. The first is using the April Kathy's Waffle Sketch.

I've used an old favorite stamp and broken into my new Whiff of Joy papers. The sentiment stamp was a freebie from a recent Bunny Zoe offer but I don't know who it was made by.

The clouds have been cut with my new Fiskars squeeze punch.

For my other card I was playing with my Magnolia stamps, I think there was a pink and green challenge going on back then.

I've used one of my newest Tilda's and some stickers from Paperchase. All the patterned papers are from The Girls Paperie which sadly is no more - If anyone still has any stock of the big sticker market packs I can highly recommend them.

I made a new card yesterday. Still have some ones from when the computer was down to load up later.

This week's DCM theme was a bit tricky. The flowers for May are Lily Of The Valley and Hawthorn. Just couldn't think what I had that would fit the theme and then all at once I had inspiration and found 2 things at the same time.

I've used Jo Kill's sketch and baby card design from issue 84 of Simply Cards and Papercraft magazine as my inspiration. The photo was taken in my mum's garden a couple of years ago and the colour scheme of pink and green has come from the little reproduction Victorian scrap I found with a Lily Of The Valley posey on it. I've used My Minds Eye dotted card with a brown DCWV card base.

The buttons and thread were both freebies.

The Branston Pickle started pre-school for real yesterday so I now have 2 afternoons a week to dedicate to housework crafting. Although I miss the little terror, I love it when I pick him up and he comes running over shouting "Mummy, mummy, mummy!".

Sunday, May 8

A curse on all those who try to steal your details over the internet and completely mess up your computer in the process !*X*!*? There, now I have got that off my chest back to blogging and crafting, hurrah!!

With my computer down time having clashed with the extended Easter break in the UK I have spent lots of time with the children and not so much of it crafting, so it has been a real break all round. Did you watch THE wedding? We were glued to the TV all day looking at the fashions, celebrities and the spectacle.

I couldn't come back without a project to share, now could I?

Sadly during my time away I missed participating in the May design team projects for By The Cute And Girly, so this is one of those kind of 'Here's one I made earlier!' moments.

I've decorated my page with lots of different stamps from Glitz designs and Pink Paislee mainly.

There's lots of Distress Stickles and the roses are from Wild Orchid Crafts.

I've been missing out on all those challenges so here's a couple to get me back on track: